Editorial: Regionalization possible in Washoe

The collapse of the combined Reno Fire Department and Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District two years ago raised an important question for elected officials in the city and county:

With the deterioration in relations among jurisdictions in the Truckee Meadows, does regionalization have a future?

It was only a few years ago, after all, that regionalization seemed to be the wave of the future. Just about every candidate for public office was talking about the money that could be saved by combining fire departments, law enforcement agencies, parks and recreation — there even was talk about folding the cities into a single regional government, much like Carson City.

Little of that has come to fruition. The fire department "divorce" is one example of how financial issues, union contracts and politics can make any effort to create a regional service more difficult than anyone anticipated. Another is Animal Control, which has been kicked around like a political football for several years, despite its having a dedicated source of tax revenue, or maybe because of it.

Yet, the history of regionalization in Reno, Sparks and Washoe County isn't all bleak, and there are examples of regional agencies that have succeeded beyond expectations.

Financial independence

The Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority, created by the Legislature to end bickering over the Reno-owned airport in 1977, is one. It's governed by a nine-member board of trustees that's appointed by the city councils of Reno and Sparks, the Washoe County Commission and the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority; none of the trustees are currently elected officials. Important to its success: It's financially self-sufficient, operating on fees and rental income from its tenants (including slot machine revenue).

Although there are occasional controversies, as might be expected for the issues it must deal with, the Regional Transportation Commission also can be considered one of the area's most successful regionalization efforts. It, too, has its own sources of revenue. Unlike the airport authority, however, its five-member board includes elected officials; two members are appointed by the Reno City Council, one by the Sparks City Council and two by the Washoe County Commission.

But perhaps the most successful regionalization effort has been the Truckee Meadows Water Authority. TMWA was created in 2000 by Washoe County, Reno and Sparks to make a bid for Westpac Utilities, the private water company owned by what was then Sierra Pacific Power Co. (now NV Energy). The quickly formed joint powers authority outbid a French firm for the water system that primarily served the urban areas of Sparks and Reno. (There were allegations that it overbid.)

Since then, it has refurbished a water system that had been badly neglected by its previous owner. It has installed meters on homes that didn't already have them. It has secured storage to protect customers in drought years. And, in the coming months, it will complete a merger with Washoe County's water utility, which will give the region a single water purveyor able to put the diverse sources of water to the best use and better plan for the future.

It has been able to do all that while maintaining its financial stability at a time when many government agencies have struggled with falling tax revenue and debt.

The TMWA board has seven members, three representing Reno, two each representing Sparks and Washoe County. It's a mix of elected and nonelected officials.

Overcoming tensions

None of these organizations has been completely free of the kinds of tensions that you'd expect in the Truckee Meadows' political climate, especially given the sometimes emotional issues they deal with, such as roads and water, but all have been able to work through those difficulties by concentrating on their missions.

So there are good models for city and county officials to look to if they are serious about restarting the conversation about consolidating fire departments — as they should be.

Among the lessons that they can learn from their past successes is that the new organization must be fully independent, with its own sources of revenue and a board dedicated to working collaboratively.

Equally important, the new organization must be able to start with a blank slate. That includes being able to negotiate new contracts with the unions that represent fire department employees. Without that authority, a chief won't have the flexibility he or she needs to staff the department appropriately, and the organization's finances would start in a deep hole.

It can be done. Reno, Sparks and Washoe County already have shown they can put politics aside to create organizations that work for the good of all residents. It's time to put that knowledge to work on fire protection.

SNAPSHOT

ISSUE:

Regionalizing fire protection

OUR VIEW:

There are good models available to help the cities and county create a fully independent organization free of politics.